Manchester City clearly deserved their win at Manchester United tonight which moves them to within touching distance of retaining the Premier League title. But not just with pure skill. Vincent Kompany, who I've often described as a red card waiting to happen, was a red card that could easily have happened in the first half. And David Silva, who I facetiously said earlier today had become the "complete team player" by adding, shall we say, cynicism to his game, should certainly have been sent off, kicking an opponent with some force and apparently deliberately in an aerial challenge that Gary Neville assumed the referee could not have seen clearly.
None of this matters too much, just don't try to tell me City are somehow fundamentally different from great teams of the past, or Guardiola's approach is some radically purer form of football.
United held City well in the first half but lost control early in the second when Bernardo Silva briefly showed, with quick feet far too good for Luke Shaw, why some pundits (though not this one) think he's been City's best player this season. Leroy Sane made it safe with a firm shot that embarrassed David de Gea, who seemed to hesitate over whether to try to make the save with hand or foot, confirming again that his standing has slipped a long way from the "possibly the best goalkeeper in the world" status of a couple of years ago. The match showed conclusively that he's not the best keeper in Manchester at the moment.
The runs that City and Liverpool have been on have been remarkable. City have reeled off eleven straight wins in the league. Liverpool have won 10 and drawn 4 since they lost at Manchester City on 3 January. If City do retain the league those draws would prove expensive, though equally the results in the head to head games (a draw and a win for City) could be argued to have been the key factor.
Whatever happens both teams must certainly pass the total of 89 points that has always hitherto been enough to win the Premier League (City have 89, Liverpool 88, both with 3 matches to play). Leaving the question of when and how the gulf in class between these two teams and the rest can be bridged. It wouldn't be a surprise if we were in for a few years of duopoly, such as we had in the 1990s with Manchester United and Arsenal.
Fortunately these things never last forever. At least until UEFA refine their ludicrous FFP rules so as to guarantee the outcome permanently, thus killing the game.
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